Improvement in attaching and detaching horses prom vehicles



daitmi tant GEORGE SWITZER, OFNVASHINGTON, DISTRICT 0F COLUMBIA.

Letters Patent No. 106,293, dated August 9, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN ATTACAHING- AND DETACHING- VHORSES I RQM VEHICLES.

To whom. it 'may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE Swrrznn, of the cityand county of Washington,'=in the District of Columhia, havoinventedcertain new and 'useful Improvement in-Devees for Attaching aridDetaehing Horses iourVehicles; 'and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, andexact description thereof,

reference being' had to the accompanying drawing of v the saine, whichmakes part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 represents aview in perspective of a portion of.one of the shafts or thills, and thetrace or tug-strap and parts of the harness connectedtherewith, in thepositions they occupy when the horse is secured to the vehicle.` l

Figure 2 represents a' similar view,'showing -only the parts of thedevice attached to the shafts, and

4detachable from thcharness the horse.

Figure 3 represents asimilar view of the 'partsV of the harness shown asharing been detached from the parts shown in iig. 2.

Figure 4 represents a crosssection of one of the shafts, andtheattaching and detachiug device of the harness connected thereto.

Figure 5 represents an elevation of the attaching .device secured totheshaft.

Figure 6 represents a' section of the front axle and.

a springbrake connected thereto, and 'operated by el# evating the shaftsto 'stop the Vvehicle when the horse is released. Y

Figure 7 represents a plany of the saine.

In the accompanying drawingi Arepresents a part of one ofthe thills` orshafts, tc which the harness of the horse issecured.

Each trace or tug-strap is made in two sections; the rear one, B, issecured to the shaft orthill hy means of an attaching and detachingdevice, 'and to the whithetree; andthe other, G, to thevhames of thehorse, and to the device by which it is attached to and detached fromtheshafts.

The attaching and detaching device consists of two plates or castings, Dand E, one of which, D, has a huh or projection, a, on its back,provided with an opening, through which the stem of a staple, F, passes,and forms the bearing for the said plate I), so' as to allow it to havea slight oscillating and longitudinal movement, to accommodate itself tothe motion of the whitiletree and the horses shoulders.

The staple E is secured tothe shaft A, so as to allow it to be turnedupon its hinged or swiveled end, to he locked and tinlocked with acatch, 11,1 and for 'this-purpose the catch has a shoulder, and the endof the stein is beveled, and made to interlock with said shoulder byheilig sprung overit, as shown in figs. l

and 2, by which the attaching device can be easily I removed from theshaft without det-aching it from the harness in' putting uptheteam; or,in case the vehicle should be safely stored. it may remain secured tothe Shaft and single-tree.

, The cylindrical opening ofthe huh a is provided with a leather orrubber bearing, c, for the stem of the staple F,t0 prevent any rattlingof the parts.

To guard against any possible accidentby which the staplemight he freedfrom its catch, andthe attaching dev icedisconnected from the-shaft, thehubc may he united to the shaftby a leather loop, G, surrounding them,so, that they can only be separated by sliding them olf the end Vof theshaft should the staple becomel unfastened.

lhe plate D of the 'th'ills is provided, on its side op posite thebearing-huh a, with two ears, d d, which project into and throughopenings, e c, iu the detachable plate E, and the two plates, D and E,thus interlocked, are secured together; by means of a pin, H, passingthrough openings in the projecting` cars (l, so as to hold thelocking-pin H against the inner sid'e of 'theplate E, in such manner asto render the said locking-piu quickly detachable, to sepa-rate theparts, as will be presently more fully described.

The detachable plate E has four branches or loops, fg h t, arrangedinpairs at right angles to each other, through two of which, g and i, the.saddle-strap P passes, andis buckled into the lower loop, i, as shown iniig. 3, while the front section, C, of the trace-strap,

" is secured in the frontloop, j, and to the rear loop,

the detaching-strap I I2, which carries thelocking-pin.

This strapoccupies the place of theordinary breech-- -ing strap, and is,therefore, connected to the breechingring J,'so that, in withdrawing thelocking-pin from theprojecting ears d d of the plate D, the strap I Iz-will not slip through said "ring J, but be held by it, and thus furnisha tixedpoint from which to pull vthe outer branch, I2, of said strap,rearward, when it is desired to withdraw the locking-pin, which lat-termust be so arranged in relation to the length of the breeching-strap,the loop h, through which said strap passes, and the ears d d, throughwhich saidA `pin passes,as that, whether pulling-by the trace or backingbythe breeching, the position or safety of the pin,l as a lockingdevice, will not be affected in the' least, nor rendered uncertain,because the strain is always equal upon the two branches of the strap,and -keeps them taut, except when i t is desired to disengage the horse`then the strain isput upon that branch, I2, of the strapY whichcarries' the pin, so that, in pulling it rearward, (the breeching-ringserving as the.

.fixed point of pnll,) the strap I will be drawn through the loop h, andthe pin be withdrawn fromv its locked position. lo accomplish this, thepin 'must'extend Ainto-the locking-ears d of the device, on a lineWit-l1 that side or branch I2 of the strap to whichv it isat-. tached,as shown in iig. 3, and, as there is not-hing to hold the two plates Dand E together when the pin has been pulled out, they separate at once,leaving the harness of the horse entirely free from the shafts,

as he carries with hm the detachable plate E, the

front section of the trace, and the breeching-strap of both sides orshafts.

lhe means for effecting the detachment of the horse consists in securingto that branch of the breechingstraps, I2, which carries the pins, neartheir connection with the vbreeching-rings, a bill-hooked shaped catchor buckle, K, as shown in figs. 1 and 3, into each of which is hooked aloop, j, secured tothe ends of a strap, L', leading to and under thecontrol of the driver. Vlhese hooked catches K are constructed andsecured to their straps in such manner that their hooked ends willalways remain -closed with their straps,` and thus keep the loops jconfined therein; but their form is such as to allow' the loops j topull themselves ont of the hooks in giving the strap a sudden, strongpull to withdraw the pin; because, as the driver pulls upon the strap L,the force is' communicateddirectly to the outer branches P of Ithebreeching-straps, so as to cause the hooked ends of the catches to openas the pins are withdrawn and the loop liberated.

In this action, the hooked buckle serves as a level', and its positionon the strap must be such as to allow it to pull the strap backward aysuticient distance' to entirely withdraw the 'pin'from its lockedposition. In this manner the horseis detached and cleared of the vehiclein case of running away.

In this operation, however, the danger tothe occupants of the vehicle isnot entirely relieved, because the shafts or thills, being allowed tofall suddenly to the ground while the vehicle is in rapid motion, wouldnot only lbreak them, but endanger the violent upsetting of thecarriage, andimperil the lives and limbs of the occupants.- lo preventthis, a branch-strap, M, of the detaching-strap L, is secured to theiear section B of the trace or shaft, as may be desired, as shown infigs. l and 2, so that the same act or pull which releases the horsealso elevates the shafts or thills, and puts into action abrake upon thefront wheels.

This brake consists of two spring bars, N, secured.

to the front side of the forward axle. O, so as to cxtend over the rearends of the hubs Q of the front wheels, and above the hinge It of eachshaft.

The latter, having the usual bend, are provided on the upper side withpins or projectings, l, which, when lthe shafts are raised, as shown bydotted lines in fig. 6, will pass over the spring brake-bars N, and thuslock the shafts with them, so that the upward movement of each shaft isutilized as a lever by'which to press, with force, each brake againstthe hubs of the wheels, and in this way effect the `safety of thevehicle and its occupants after the horse or horses are released, and byone and the same movement or pull upon a single strap or rein L 'withinreach of the driver, the'two things, viz., the detachment of thc horseand the stopping of the carriage,constituting one and the sameoperation. o

There are many advantages in the use of this method of attaching and-detaching horses from the shafts, whetherin' case of a runaway, or fortaking ont the horse andputting up lthe carriage, for, by the method nowpracticed, there are eleven things to he done to fasten or hitch a horseto `a carriage after the harness is ou the horse, :md the same number ofthings to be done to undo land take a horse out ofthe shafts.

By my method, but two things only are required to l losser.

be done, viz., to withdraw the locking-pins from the detachable platesof each shaft; and even these two to render'the pull of the frontsections of .the traces easynpon the horses shoulders; and, if at anytime it'should lbe found desirable to enable me to dispense with therear sections B of the traces, and v'the single-tree, and let the horsedraw direct from the front traces and shafts, the plates D, in suchcase, will pull directly against these springs, which may be made ofrubber or rubber and wire combined.

Having described my invention,

l. The method herein described of attaching and detaching horses fromvehicles by meansof the traces or tug-straps, made in two sections, Band C, thc front ones, C, secured to and carried by a detachable plate,E, and the breeching-straps- I, and the rear.

ones, B, by an armed plate, D, secured to the shafts,

the two plates constructed so as'to interlock with each other, and belocked and unlocked from eachother by means of attaching anddetaching-pins H, carried vby the breeching-straps, and controlled by vasingle strap within reach of the diiver, substantially as hereindescribed.

2. 'The combination of the detachable plate E with the plate Il) andstapleli, substantially as herein described.

3. The breeching-straps yI, constructed with at taching anddetaching-pi-ns H, in combination with the interlocking-plates D and E,substantially as here-` in described. I 4; The breeching-straps 12,constructed with hooks K, in combination with a detaching-strap, M, andthe locking and unlockingA pins H, substantially as herein described. l

5. The staples F, which carry the' interlockingplates D, constrnctedsoas to be unfastened from the shafts, to allow the said plates, withtheir straps, to

be removed from the shafts when desired, subst-antially as hereindescribed.

6. The hubs a, as described, of the interlockingplates E, provided withinterior bearings, c, of leather or rubber, to prevent .the rattling ofthe parts, substantially as herein described.

v7. .lhe strap L, attached to the traces or shafts, for the purpose ofelevating the shafts, to bring into action spring brakes N, to stopthelvvehicle by the saine pull and by the saine strap which effects therelease of the horse,'substantially-as herein described.

8. rlhe combination of the ii'iterlocking-plates D and E, the staple F,thetrace-straps B and C, breeching-straps I lj", hooked buckle K, anddetaching-strap L, the se' eral parts being constructed, arranged, andoperating substantially as herein described.

9. In the above-described detaching apparatus, the strap L, as arranged,and operating in such manner as to lift and hold up the shafts when thehorse is released, substantially as herein described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my llame. l

GEORGE SWITZER. Witnesses:

A. E'. H. JoHNsoN, T. H. UPPERMAN.

